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Better Days (SWB)
"Better Days" is the sixth episode of Season 5 of Survivors We Become. It is also the 44th episode overall. Synopsis Karen leads a group out to meet a potential alliance. Plot Spencer, Becca and Karen exit the school building as the sun peeks out above the trees. A group, including Chase and Mitch, are building a pavilion in the courtyard. As Karen leads the other two down the stoop, the doors open again behind them. “What, no goodbyes?” The three turn to see Mike exiting the building with Cathy behind him. Spencer turns himself around, opening his mouth to speak to Karen but she just gives him a soft smile. “Take your time. We won’t leave without you.” She turns around, walking to the truck as Spencer turns back to his group. Cathy looks between Rebecca and Spencer with . “I know you’re in a hurry but it still would have been nice to see you before you go… considering how unpredictable things are now-a-days.” She sighs, smiling softly to them both. “I’m sorry, Cathy. But like you said, we were in a hurry.” Becca says with a smile. “Regardless, here. Just in case you feel like you need it.” Mike takes a step forward, reaching to give something to Becca, who looks down to see Mike’s pistol being held out to her. She takes it, looking down at it in her hand. He chuckles softly. “I really hope you won’t need it.” She looks up to him, smiling to him. “Thanks, Mike.” Beside them, Spencer notices the look on Cathy’s sinking expression. The young man steps closer to her. “I know you don’t like this. No one does. Billie and Chase tried to stop me from going, too. But you have to understand, this place needs to be rebuilt and I think that if there’s a chance someone will help us, we have to take it.” The woman eyes him, looking down over. “I know. I just don’t like it.” Cathy smiles before pulling him into a hug. “Please be careful out there. And make sure Becca doesn’t get hurt. She’s the closest I’ll get to a daughter.” Spencer hears Becca chuckle, the two of them smiling to one another. Becca turns back to Cathy with a grin. “We’ll be okay.” The copper haired woman turns around, reaching to grab Spencer and lead him to the truck. They turn back one last time, giving the other two another smile before they leave. The truck pulls into a parking lot and comes to a stop. “Richmond, Virginia.” Morris says as he jumps from the bed and looks around the area. They’re in the parking lot of a pharmacy, where he sees about 10 walkers surrounding something dead in the road. The man turns back to the other as they grab their belongings. “This place has seen better days.” “We need to keep moving so we can see better days.” Jim turns to Dewey. “Which way?” Dewey lifts his bound hands and points a finger to the rundown pharmacy. “Last I saw, they went that way. They must live in the woods or something because that’s all that’s behind there.” Karen turns around. “Let’s not waste time.” She starts walking through the parking lot to the side of the building. Jim, Spencer and Becca begin to follow, Tara and Morris hesitantly do the same. Becca turns her head towards the walkers surrounding the animal, squinting as she notices there are patches of skin is missing off of some of them -- specifically the faces. About ten minutes pass and they’re continuing through the forest. Karen has moved closer to Becca and Spencer. “Hey…” Karen says, coming to a stop. The others stop as well. In a nearby clearing, a large wall can be seen. Spencer turns to Karen, seeing her smile. “That might be them!” The group begins walking towards the walls. “Let’s not get too excited. We don’t even know if these guys are really friendly.” Jim says to her before looking to Dewey quickly. “We’re trusting the word of a stranger, don’t forget.” Approaching the wall, the group is quiet. Spencer looks up to see a young man standing on a lookout post. The man spots them and points his rifle at them. “Don’t come any closer.” The group stops where they are, Karen holds her hands up with a smile. “We’re friendly, if it means anything.” “Around here it usually doesn’t. What’s your business here?” The brown haired man yells to them. Spencer and Becca eye each other. “My name is Karen Michaels. Our… friend had seen one of your men watching us at our camp and followed him here.” Karen responds. “We don’t want trouble… but we may be able to help out one another.” The man starts lowering the rifle, staring at them silently for a moment before stepping back. “Wait here.” He says before disappearing behind the wall. “Holy shit, you were actually telling the truth.” Rikki says to Dewey, who turns to her with a nod. “Yeah. So don’t say I never did nothin’ for ya.” Dewey shrugs. The gates suddenly open, the young man walking out behind a short man with glasses with two other men walking behind them with machine guns. Karen gives the man with glasses, who she assumes must be the leader, a welcoming smile and walks forward. “Hi, my name’s--” “Quiet.” The man hisses at her. The man looks over the group. “I don’t know what you’ve heard or who you’ve spoken to, but no one here is looking for an alliance. So leave this place.” “Sir, we’ve travelled so far--” Karen begins to speak calmly but the two men with guns point them forward at her, making her step back with a horrified gasp. “And you can travel all the way back to your stupid high school. We aren’t interested.” The man says before turning around to walk back inside. The man stops in his tracks as another voice from the group shouts, “How’d you know they’re from a school?” All the survivors turn to look at the back of the group where Dewey and Rikki stand together. Rikki turns to Dewey, who has a frown on his face. “Excuse me?” The man asks. “We never said we were from a high school. Only that we heard you needed an alliance.” Dewey tilts his head a bit. “So you’ve heard of us then?” Karen smirks at Dewey before turning, grinning as the leader begins to get frustrated. “I want you to leave before I have you all killed.” "Sir, please just reconsider--" Karen begs. The short man turns around, beginning to lead the others inside. The young guard turns towards the group again. “But Murray, what about what Jed--” “Everyone inside!” The leader shouts at his group. Pat hesitates before turning and walking inside. His head hangs as he walks back to his post while Murray walks towards Jed, Ingrid and two other survivors, Jorge and Ian. His face red, he points a finger in Jed’s face. “If you ever sneak out again, I don’t even want you back inside these walls! Especially if you’re going to be bringing around strangers!” Ingrid looks up to Jed to see how he reacts. The taller man doesn’t flinch, he just keeps his arms crossed as he looks down at the other man’s finger. There’s a moment of silence before the taller man leans closer to him. “Put your finger in my face again and I’ll break both your arms.” Then he stands up straight and walks deeper into the camp. Ingrid, Jorge and Ian follow him. Outside the gate, Karen turns back to the others, who all look disappointed or angry. “This was a waste of our time.” Jim grumbles as he turns around. Tara and Morris follow him silently, Tara with her head down. “Uh… does this mean we’re done?” Dewey asks. “‘Cuz if so, I’d like to go now.” Spencer turns his head to look at him. “You’re not going anywhere until justice is served.” “'Spencer--'” Rebecca reaches a hand to him. “He’s helped us out as much as he can, just let him go, kid!” Spencer turns to see Rikki sneering at him. She pulls out her knife and grabs Dewey’s bound arms, cutting the zip tie as Spencer watches. The woman turns her gaze back to Spencer as the man in front of her stares at his wrists then back to her in shock. Rikki just walks back to the truck, Dewey following close behind. The survivors begin to follow her silently until only Karen and Becca stand with Spencer. Karen turns her head back to look up at Pat in the tower one more time, seeing the look of sympathy he gives them. She turns to the other two and starts walking. “Come on.” The truck is right where they left it in the parking lot, thankfully. As they emerge from behind the pharmacy, Morris, Jim and Tara lead the way back to the truck while Spencer and Becca trail the others silently. Tara turns her head towards the pharmacy before coming to a stop. “Morris, come with me.” She says before walking towards the building. Morris follows her as Karen, Jim and Becca watch. “How do you know there’s anything left?” Jim calls to her. The red haired woman just shrugs, spinning back to him. She walks backwards as she calls, “Even if there’s nothing, I at least want to look. Five minutes.” The two walk towards the building as the others walk back to the truck. “I’m sorry about what happened at the settlement.” Rikki says, breaking the silence Dewey turns to her questionably. “You didn’t deserve to be kicked out for what you did, in my opinion. What that guy did to you… to your family--” “Don’t bring up my family.” Dewey says lowly. She looks at him, seeing his eyebrows furrow. “I just wanted to say you didn’t deserve it. And it isn’t too late to change. I was apart of a group that would loot survivors we met on the road. I almost killed a few of Spence's friends and now I'm one of 'em.” He turns to her as she smiles. “It might take time to adjust, but you want to do the right thing. I know it!” He gives her a soft smile, looking down a bit. He shakes his head. “You don’t know shit.” Her smiles drops as they approach the truck. She reaches into the bed of the truck, pulling the crossbow out and handing it to the man. Dewey perks up as he takes it back, immediately slinging the strap over his shoulder. He turns to the other survivors, nodding his head. “Well, good luck on that alliance! Hope to see y’all again real soon! Uh, preferably never.” With a quick wave, he spins around and quickly makes his way across the parking lot, disappearing behind the pharmacy and leaving the group to watch as he does. “Oh I hope for the exact same thing.” Spencer huffs as he turns around, walking away from the others. Becca turns, seeing as he crosses his arms and looks to the ground. She sighs, letting him be. Rikki scoffs from the other side of her. “What an ass.” She turns back to the truck, climbing up into the bed and standing. “I’ll take watch until Tara and Morris get out.” Meanwhile, the school survivors eat breakfast in the cafeteria. At one round table, Billie, Amber, Tobias and Monet sit together with trays in front of them. Amber, Tobias and Monet talk and laugh amongst one another, but Billie, who is beside Amber and Tobias, sits quietly. One arm holds his head up as he stares out the window close by, looking out to the field. “Earth to Bill.” Amber waves a hand in front of him, making him jump a bit before looking to her. She squints at him as she takes a sip of water. “You’ve been quiet today. You’re worried about Spencer, aren’t you?” “Of course I am. How can I not be?” Billie replies. “You can’t stress so much about him, man. Spence is strong, I’ve seen it since day one.” Tobias says. “He’ll be back here later today and you’ll see, everything is fine.” Billie sighs, nodding to them. “Yeah, I know… But he’s gone through a lot, and since Ashleigh died--” “'Billie.'” Amber says, raising her eyebrow. “Spencer doesn’t want us to worry for him. He wants us to help protect the school.” “Right…” The boy says, his body slumping a bit. Monet, who sits across from him, eyes him with a smirk before turning to her daughter “Have you tried the potatoes yet? Caroline really did a great job.” Tobias nods in agreement. “She’s wonderful. I remember at the reserve--” Something suddenly hits the table right next to Billie's tray, making it flip in the air. The survivors quickly notice it’s a reanimated head. As it ineffectively snaps at them, Amber jumps up with her knife in hand, stabbing into the temple and killing it instantly. She lifts her knife up for other survivors looking upon the scene. Amber sneers, looking around before raising the head on the blade. “Anyone wanna explain this?” She looks at the shocked faces staring at them before her eyes stop on two teenagers at one of the next tables. The sneering boy has blood on his hands while the girl has her arms crossed in front of her. “Perhaps you two do.” “It’s just a... heads up. you should leave this place before we cut off yours.” The boy named Caleb spits. “How about you fuck off before I stab your dick!” Amber snaps, raising the blade as the teenagers snicker to one another. Tobias, Billie and Monet stand as well. Monet steps forward, grabbing her daughter’s shoulder as she sneers at the two teenagers. “They’re just a few kids, Amber. Let’s go.” Amber is about to argue until she sees her mother looking around. She notices some of the other survivors are watching them with fear. She curses, taking a step back and turning away with her mother. “You can avoid us all you want! But eventually we’ll take this place back!” Caleb spits as Tobias turns around as well. “Come on, Bill, let’s go.” Tobias calls. Billie steps back as Caleb sneers at him before both turning away. Minutes pass. The group waits for Tara and Morris still. Rikki sits on the edge of the bed with a bored expression, her head is in her hands. Meanwhile Karen sits with her legs out of the passenger seat, reloading her pistol. Jim leans against the vehicle beside her while Spencer and Becca stand close together a few feet away. Jim lets out an annoyed sigh. “Alright, they’ve spent enough time in there.” He pushes off the truck and walks across the parking lot. Karen looks up and calls after him before shaking her head, knowing she won’t stop him. He walks up to the door the duo had broken open and walks into the dark pharmacy, the only light coming from the windows. Becca watches for a minute before turning to Spencer, who is still staring at the ground. “C’mon, Spence, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Spencer lets out a sigh as he looks to her. “A-am I like my dad?” The woman blinks before tilting her head at him. “What? What kind of…” She shakes her head. “Why would you ask me that?” “You and Cathy were with him for a while. You got to meet him and see who he really is. Out of everyone, you’d probably be the best judge.” Spencer shrugs. “You aren’t like him at all, Spencer. You’re not a murderer, you aren’t a man who thrives on other people’s pain.” Becca says to him. “But I am a murderer.” Spencer replies. Tears prick his eyes as he looks to her “I killed Josh in the woods, remember? I-I bashed his fucking head in with a rock, he wasn’t a biter, he was just--” “Do you remember what he was doing? He was going to kill Angel if you didn’t stop him. It’s not like you enjoyed doing it.” Spencer looks down uncomfortably at her words, but she doesn’t notice. “Look, you’re not like your dad, okay? You care about people. If you were like him, you wouldn’t be asking if you’re doing the right thing.” “Yeah… you’re right.” Spencer says as they smile to one another. Becca pulls him closer for a hug. His smile falls as he rests his head on her shoulder, frowning towards the pharmacy. Inside the building, Jim follows a trail of three dead walkers in the dim light. The bearded man follows them into an aisle where he pulls out his revolver. “Morris. Tara. Let’s go.” He whispers. There’s no answer, except for a raspy moan in the back. He walks quickly to the end of the aisle, putting his back towards the shelf before peeking out to the back. The back of the store has almost no light, but in the darkness, Jim sees the back of Tara and Morris’ heads and just stares. “Son of a bitch…” Tara’s left arm is missing. Morris has a big slash down his back. They both hobble aimlessly. Jim continues to shake his head as Jim tucks his revolver away and pulls out his hunting knife and approaches the two. First Jim grabs Tara’s hair and pulls her head back, shoving the blade into the back of her skull. He twists the blade inside before ripping it out, shoving the woman down as Morris turns to him. Jim flips the knife in his hand and brings the knife over his head, stabbing him in the forehead. Morris’s legs give out instantly and he falls to his knees. Jim pulls his knife back, watching his friend’s corpse fall to the side. After hearing footsteps behind him, he hears a gasp. “Shit… what happened to them?” He turns around, seeing Karen covering her mouth. “Someone attacked them. Look at them.” He points to Tara’s missing arm as Karen approaches quickly. She stares down at them. “Christ… who’d do this to them? I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Suddenly Karen hears dragging footsteps behind them and turns turns around to see a walker stumbling towards them from the darkness of another aisle. Jim, already having his knife out, brushes past her and walks towards it. He raises the knife and is about to swing when the walker suddenly pulls out a machete and swings back. The brown haired man lets out a scream as his pistol wielding hand flies in the air, dropping to the floor only a few feet away from Karen. With wide eyes, she looks to see him drop to his knees, gripping his amputated arm as blood begins to pour out. Jim looks up to the walker as it readies the machete again. “Get out!” Jim shouts to Karen before the machete strikes his shoulder. Karen’s soft cries are drowned out by his. “You’re in skinner territory now.” The walker whispers hoarsely before bringing the machete up again, bringing it down with as much force as he can muster. Jim’s cries stop, his body goes stiff. The walker stands, looking at Jim with the machete now wedged in his head, right between the eyes. He stares at them, tilting his head. Without breaking contact, he adjusts his grip and pulls the blade out. The doors burst open, a panting Karen bolting out of the building into the sunlit parking lot. Her eyes catch the truck, Rikki standing guard in the back while Spencer and Becca lean against the side and talk. Karen can’t hold back her scream. “HELP!” The other three survivors perk up with Rikki pointing her rifle and Becca reaching for the pistol Mike had given her. Rikki sees Karen and lowers it. “Shit, somethin’s happened!” Becca waves an arm and begins leading the other two to meet the frantic lady. They jog over to her, stopping her as they meet up. The woman panics, beginning to shout, “No! Keep going, he’s coming!” The others instantly shush her. “Karen, cool it! You’ll bring walkers this way!” Becca says in a hushed tone. “Now tell us what happened.” “H-He’s… they’re dead. He killed them all.” “Jim killed Tara and Morris?” Spencer asks. “NO! Jim’s dead, too!” Karen sobs, covering her face. “Oh, God, I shouldn’t have asked him to come with us.” The woman sobs into her hands as the other three turn to one another. “Who killed them? Was it a walker?” Rikki asks. “I don’t know what it was! It looked like a walker but it held…” Karen chokes on her words, turning around to the pharmacy again. The others look as well. Nothing else but the pharmacy stands there. Becca begins to grow impatient. “Spit it out, what was he--” “A machete.” Karen whispers. “He had a machete and he looked like a walker.” She suddenly turns around to the building again. “Holy shit.” Rikki whispers, Spencer and Becca both turning their heads to her. “Dewey said that the dead were carrying weapons last night. He was right about the alliance, he’s right about them--” “Jesus, just bone the guy already then!” Spencer rolls his eyes. “Excuse me?” Rikki steps towards him furiously but Becca pushes between them. “Say that again, kid!” Spencer is about to speak but Becca quickly pushes them back. “That’s enough, the both of you! We’re on the same team, remember?” Rikki dusts off her jacket before scoffing and walks to the truck. “Tell that to him.” Rebecca frowns, letting out a sigh as she turns to Spencer, who just looks at Rikki apologetically. He then turns to Becca. “I didn’t mean to…” “Let’s go.” Becca utters with a shake of her head, kneeling down to help Karen up. Spencer watches the two of them walk towards the truck before following after. The cafeteria has mostly cleared out. Caroline is behind the counter preparing lunch with Kenny and Melissa helping her. Mike and Cathy sit side by side at a table silently. Mike turns to Cathy. “What are you thinking about?” Cathy is silent for a moment before snickering. “Have you ever met Spencer’s dad?” Mike crosses his arms, shaking his head. “No. Only heard stories.” “Trust me, those aren’t just stories.” Cathy says. “I’ve never met such a pathetic man. He has to hurt the people around him to feel good about himself. The things he’d say to his wife, or to anyone for that matter… disgusting.” Cathy shakes her head. “Anyway, I asked because ever since we reunited, I just… I can’t look at Spencer the same way I used to. I know he would never hurt anyone without reason but…” “But what, Cathy?” Mike frowns at her, side eyeing her. Cathy looks around quickly. “He’s still his father’s son.” Mike blinks. “What are you trying to say?” “After we separated in the woods, Becca and I ran into Micah. The first thing he did was shoot Danielle in the face. He didn’t even think it over, he didn’t have any remorse for it. He killed an innocent girl just because he could.” “Yeah, Micah Allen did that. Not Spencer Allen.” Mike says to her. “Where’s this coming from? Don’t you trust Spencer?” Cathy closes her mouth and looks forward. The silence makes Mike’s eyes widen. “You don’t trust him…” Mike says quietly. The little lady suddenly stands up, shaking her head. “I’m not talking about this anymore.” She says before walking out the door before Mike can stop her. “Where are we going?” Alex follows Brie towards the baseball field, where he sees Caleb, Morgan, Jenni and Shaun standing together. “What’s going on?” Brie turns back to him, reaching for his hand. “Just trust me!” She leads him to the group and smiles at her friend. “You’ll want to hear this.” Morgan motions to Caleb. “Caleb has a plan on how to get rid of those newbies.” “Only thing is,” Caleb crosses his arms, stepping closer to him, “We’re gonna have to get our hands dirty for this. You willing to do that?” Other Cast Co-Starring *Karis Cameron as Morgan *Andrew Lincoln as Jim Andrews *Spencer MacPherson as Caleb *Rami Malek as Russell *Jake Picking as Pat *Birgitte Hjort Sørensen as Ingrid *Cole Sprouse as Shaun *Amandla Stenberg as Jenni *Bella Thorne as Brie Dewolfe *DB Woodside as Morris Uncredited *Kevin Alejandro as Jorge Mendoza *Tom Ellis as Ian Mowren *Trevante Rhodes as Miles Montana *Brandon Soo Hoo as Jordan *Charles Walton as Terrence Deaths *Morris (Alive and Zombified) *Tara (Alive and Zombified) *Jim Andrews Your Rating How would you rate "Better Days" as a whole? (If it's a low score, I'd love to hear why in the comments.) 10/10 9/10 8/10 7/10 6/10 5/10 4/10 3/10 2/10 1/10 0/10 Trivia *First appearance of Murray. *First appearance of Miles Montana. *First appearance of Jordan. *First appearance of Ian Mowren. *First appearance of Jorge Mendoza. *First appearance of Caleb. *First appearance of Morgan. *First appearance of Shaun. *First appearance of Jenni. *First (and Last) appearance of Morris. *Last appearance of Tara. *Last appearance of Jim Andrews. Category:Survivors We Become Category:Episodes (SWB)